Update: The State Highway Patrol has identified the driver in Saturday night's pursuit that occurred in Cumberland County. A trooper attempted to stop Mr. Chy-eem Dreqwon Bobbitt, 28, of Brookhaven, PA for a speeding violation on Cumberland Rd. Mr. Bobbitt attempted to elude the trooper and was involved in a single vehicle collision on Roxie Ave. As a result of the crash, Mr. Bobbitt succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
Investigators have also identified two passengers within the vehicle as Gerald Douglas Raeford, Jr., 28, of Fayetteville and Herbert Alexander Harris, Jr., 32, of Spring Lake. Both passengers were transported to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center with injuries upgraded to serious.
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On Saturday, October 10, at approximately 8:40 p.m., a trooper with the State Highway Patrol attempted to stop a Ford passenger car for a speeding violation on Cumberland Rd. in Cumberland County. After the trooper activated his emergency equipment, the driver of the Ford stopped on the right shoulder of Boone Trail near Cumberland Rd.
During the trooper’s initial approach of the stopped vehicle, the driver sped away and began traveling north on Roxie Ave at a high rate of speed. As the trooper attempted to overtake the fleeing vehicle, the driver of the Ford traveled off the roadway and struck a tree.
As a result of the crash, the driver succumbed to his injuries at the scene. Two additional passengers were in the fleeing vehicle at the time of the crash. The trooper immediately began rendering aid to the occupants of the vehicle after extinguishing a small fire caused by the crash. The passengers were transported to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center with non-life threatening injures.
Identities are not being released at this time as investigators are still attempting next-of-kin notification. Additional information will be provided in a forthcoming release once notification has been conducted.
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